Luca De Marchi and Simone Patrinicola took their maiden win in the GT Cup Europe winning in a superb finale a very closely-fought Race 2 at Spa-Francorchamps. The Italian duo also gave to the Prancing Horse and Mertel Motorsport their first win of the season and to the 296 Challenge its first success in the series.
The podium was completed by the FAEMS Porsche of Ian Rodriguez-Luca Franca, who strengthen their leadership in the overall standings, and the other Mertel Ferrari of Antoine Berberich-Martini.
Laura van den Hengel and Paul Meijer doubled their Pro-Am success of yesterday in their Burgers Motorsport by HWM Porsche in the very last lap, beating the sister 911s of Davide Scannicchio-Fabio Babini (Tsunami) and Diego Nunes-Peter Ferter (LMR).
LMR’s Leandro Martins and Dieter Svepes collected another Am success, beating H.deMello (GDL Rcing) and Gianluigi Piccioli-Cosimo Papi (Ebimotors).
THE RACE – For the first time this season and at the wheel of a Ferrari by Mertel, Matteo Luvisi keeps the lead at the start, although challenged by Longin, Demarchi, Rodrigues and Fernandes but there is some rubbing between the first two. A tyre in the Porsche of Longin blows at Blanchiment but th Belgian avoids hitting the barriers and soon after, also his Italian rival has to stop in the pits. In the meantime, Laura van den Hengel, who was seventh, is sent out on the sand at Combes by Armanni, and the safety car s out in lap 3 after a contact between Romagnoli and Navarrete at La source.
At restar, there is a new incident, this time between Giubergia and Gillion, while Demarchi leads ahead o Fernandes, Armanni, Rodriguez, Reimann and Berberich-Martini. The pit stop window opens in lap 8 and after all stops, it is Longoni leading, but closely challenged by a group composed of Franca, Patrinicola, Berberich-Martini, Reimann and Zaenen, with Babini not far and leading in Pro-Am, followed by the first two in Am, de Mello and Svepes.
The last laps se a urious battle for the top eight: Longoni, under pressure, has to let go Franca and Patrinicola, with the Ferrari later taking the lead and the win. Longoni will be passed also by Berberich-Martini and attacked by Reimann, himself sent later into a spin by Babini who was charging back and trying to defend the lead in Pro-Am from Meijer, who charged from the back. Eventually, Longoni kept fourth, ahead of Meijer, who secured the Pro-Am win, while Babini slip to eighth having to let past also Zaenen and Svepes, winner in Am.